Ibn al-Khattab

Thamir Saleh Abdullah al-Suwailem (14 April 1969-20 March 2002), also called Ibn al-Khattab or Habib Abdul Rahman, was a leader of the Chechen Mujahideen.

Biography
Thamir Saleh Abdullah al-Suwailem was born in Saudi Arabia, and in 1987 he left his home to fight for the Mujahideen during the Soviet-Afghan War. He lost several fingers on his right hand to an improvised explosive device, and between 1989 and 1994 he remained in Afghanistan, where he met Osama bin Laden and toured Khost Province Al-Qaeda training camps. From 1993 to 1995 Al-Khattab fought in the Tajik Civil War for the Tajik Muslim rebels, and when he heard of the struggle in Chechyna on the news, he headed to join the Chechen Mujahideen.

Ibn al-Khattab's Mujahideen and Islamists replaced the nationalist movement in the country, turning the struggle for a war of independence into a jihadist rebellion. Against the orders of President Aslan Maskhadov of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, al-Khattab chose to go to fight in Dagestan shortly after Russia and Chechnya made peace, and he fought against the Russian and Dagestani forces in the region. He was responsible for bombings in Russia in the late 1990s, and as a high-ranking terrorist, he became an FSB target.

Death
Khattab survived a shootout in Georgia's Pankisi Gorge in 2002, a heavy-caliber sniper rifle shot to the chest, and a landmine explosion, but in March 2002 a Dagestani courier delivered a poisoned letter to Khattab. Al-Khattab opened the letter and was killed by fast-acting sarin poison.